Today, Americans spend less than ever on their wardrobes—a mere $1,700 annually per household, to be exact—yet own far more clothes than in years past. In other words, rather than opting for high-quality, well-made merchandise, most of us are choosing to fill our closets with low-priced, cheaply-produced pieces from fast fashion stores. According to Cline, in 1929, the average middle-class woman owned approximately nine outfits. Nine. Nowadays, many of us cycle through that many ensemble changes in a single week.

But in an era when stores like Zara and Topshop turn over their merchandise every two weeks, the desire for shoppers to pick up something new with every retail outing can be intense. Coupled with the industry’s obsession with trends (studs! neon! drop-crotch pants!), it’s no wonder Americans are choosing to buy less-expensive items with shorter shelf lives—and in increasingly large quantities. According to Cline, because of modern-day shopping habits, "we’re buying so much clothing that world fiber use has risen from 10 million tons in 1950 to 82 million tons today."